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Kuala Lumpur: The collection of consumption-based tax revenue has decreased following the re-implementation of the sales and service tax (SST) to replace the goods and services tax (GST), according to the Finance Ministry (MoF).

The MoF said after the GST was introduced in April 2015, RM37.7 billion was collected for 2015; RM55.7 billion for 2016; RM60.5 billion (2017); and RM30.9 billion (2018) until May 2018.

SST collection, after it was re-implemented was RM5.4 billion from September 2018 to December 2018; RM27.6 billion (2019), RM25.2 billion (2020); RM25.5 billion (2021); RM31.3 billion (2022); and RM35.4 billion (2023), the ministry said.

“Overall, the GST collection from April 2015 until it was abolished in May 2018 amounted to RM184.8 billion while the total SST collection was RM150.4 billion between September 2018 and 2023,“ MoF said in a written response posted on the Parliament’s website on Tuesday.

The MoF was responding to Salamiah Mohd Nor’s (PN-Temerloh) question about whether tax revenues and national reserves rose after the SST was reintroduced and was the SST one of the main reasons for the continuous price increase in goods.

Comparing the total revenue collection between the GST implementation period and that of the SST’s, the average annual SST collection was 51.6 per cent lower against the GST due to the smaller scope of the SST, said the MoF.

“The main factor for the lower collection in the SST is due to the smaller scope of the SST, which covers 41 per cent of all goods and services sold in the market compared to 76 per cent under the GST,“ according to the MoF.

Meanwhile, the MoF said other factors such as demand and supply, global commodity prices, prices of imported goods and foreign currency exchange rates also affect the pricing of goods and services; and the SST cannot be considered as the main reason for the continuous rise in prices.

“In addition, there are also traders and service providers who take advantage by increasing the price of goods sold to make excessive profits despite not being affected by the imposition of SST,“ according to the MoF.